In the shadows of purple lilacs
by madelita
Summary: In which Shinichi befriends a ghost of a 19th century thief. DISCONTINUED
1. Prologue

The first time he went to that old cemetery, it was a funeral. Shinichi didn't know that well the man who died, so he just stood in the back, only being there to pay respect. He wasn't mourning, but rather examining the faces of the people who gathered there. Near the gravestone stood the close relatives, genuine sadness showing on them. But as he watched the people farther and farther from those, there was more curiosity and less grief.

Not that he was surprised, there were many like him, not even knowing the deceased, but some people really just went there to gossip. They seemed to believe that the wind would blow away their almost-whispers as they asked about wealth of the passed away man, criticizing the way others dressed while not mentioning their own clothes.

Human nature, Shinichi thought to himself. He wasn't angry, instead he felt himself going numb. He could speak up, he could stop them, but... there was no point in it, really. It wasn't some big murder case, when he had to do something so the culprit couldn't escape. No, this thing that unfolded in front of his eyes, wrapped in the form of a funeral, was the exhibition of the malice and lack of respect in people's souls.

"Disgusting, isn't it?" someone asked behind Shinichi. He merely nodded, not thinking too much about it. But when he turned around, he saw no one, just a lonely, old gravestone almost fully covered with ivy. Maybe the person went somewhere else? But no one was moving, except for the wife of the deceased who put her flowers on the grave. White roses. They were all beautiful, almost shining in the midst of that rainy day – except for one bud that looked sick and had brown spots on it.

"What a shame for this beautiful bouquet..." someone, no, the person from before said, but this time, he was somewhere else. Far from Shinichi, but he still could hear him. And that's when he saw him, a lonely figure bending down to those white roses and softly caressing that single bud. A moment later it was just as pretty as the rest of the flowers. Then the figure stood up and walked through the crowd with unnatural ease, as if people were no obstacle for him. Shinichi quickly found out why, when the man's shoulder simply passed through a particularly buff guy's arm. A ghost.

Shinichi never really believed in supernatural things, including ghosts, but it was all too clear as the man walked toward him, feet never really touching the ground, limbs passing through more people. He didn't see his face, it was hidden by a hat and a monocle, but he caught a glimpse of the ghost's smile, which was kind save for the touch of insanity it had. It was still enough to make Shinichi feel uneasy. Then again, most people didn't meet creepy white caped spirits like he did, so it wasn't such a surprise.

He was waiting for something. A word, a gesture, anything really, but the ghost was seemingly content with coming closer and closer... Until he was right in front of him. He hesitated for a moment there, but in the end he just walked through Shinichi, right into the tall obelisk behind him.

He felt a shiver run up his spine, but at the same time, he also felt warmth, rushing to his face, slowly shutting him down – his thoughts, his senses... His knees gave out under him and he almost collapsed – someone caught his arm in the last minute.

"Shinichi? Are you okay?" He casted a dazed glance to his side – Professor Agasa stood there with a worried expression.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine..." he croaked, staring at the obelisk.


	2. Just your everyday graveyard ghost

_I didn't forget about this story either~ Please, can anyone tell me why am I obsessed with ghosts, though?_

_Get ready for OOC-ness and meaningless conversations~_

_Please enjoy!_

* * *

Shinichi was worried. Antsy, nervous, on the verge of being paranoid.

Two days passed since he saw the very first ghost in his entire life, and now he was fully convinced that other spirits will try to approach him to get someone who would solve the case if their death. He could already see the headlines: "Kudou Shinichi becomes a ghost detective!" He groaned at the thought.

When he thought about it, it was stupid. He saw death almost every day, being the murder magnet he was. And despite all that, he never really met ghosts, nor any other supernatural being, and thus he refused to even believe them. And the guy, the white caped spirit he saw, he might have been just a trick from his mind. After all, he was tired from a previous case, he couldn't really sleep… It all must've been a hallucination – a really realistic one, but still nothing more than that. The shiver he felt when the ghost walked through him? A cold gust of wind, for sure, it had to be.

No, even Shinichi had to accept that something was wrong. He could've explained every single detail with something, with his lack of sleep or the weather, but something, a small voice in his head still kept nagging him. A small voice that the more logical side of his brain never let speak, and now it was all free, whispering terrible things in his ear with a sweet voice.

And what was even worse than that? That he was standing right in front of the obelisk the ghost walked into two days ago.

It was a really nice obelisk, Shinichi could see that, even when ivy covered most of it. Made of white marble, it must've cost a fortune, given how big it was, towering above him. There were carvings on it, weird shapes he could barely recognize, but one of those must've been a dove, or at least some kind of a bird.

As if he was pushed by something, Shinichi walked closer to the obelisk, only to find a torn up piece of paper next to it, hidden under the leaves. He picked up the three biggest pieces, trying to put them together – it was a treasure map. It didn't take too much time for him to decipher the childish scribbles in it, and the treasure was… right where he was standing, under the grave. There were big blotches of colour under the marked spot on the map, with a slightly neater handwriting saying "jewels". As he crouched down, he even found a small hole right in front of the obelisk, and a broken toy shovel a few steps away.

"They would dig up a grave because of a treasure map?" he asked incredulously. Weren't they worried that something… or someone might… come up?

"Sure they would."

If anyone had asked later, Shinichi would have denied the shriek he let out at that moment with everything he had. As he spun around (and fell on his butt with a muted thump), the white caped ghost stood right behind him.

"Hey, be careful!" the ghost said with an amused smile. When Shinichi managed to stand up on wobbly legs, he added: "Are you okay?"

"You… y-you…"

"Now, no need to be so scared. I'm not a vengeful spirit. Just your everyday graveyard ghost. Calm down." The ghost raised his transparent hands, and took a small step back, his back already melting into the obelisk behind him.

"Everyday… graveyard ghost…" Shinichi repeated. He felt the sweat roll down on his neck, and small shiver shook him.

"Yeah, just like Machiko-chan behind you."

"B-b-behind me?" He wanted to turn around, but at the same time he was worried that he would actually see something.

"Yeah. She was with you ever since you came here, didn't you see her?" The spirit tilted his head a bit, and his smile faded slightly as well. He might've had a disbelieving expression on his face, but Shinichi couldn't quite see his eyes. What worried him more was the fact that apparently a ghost has been following him, and he didn't notice. If he were to get possessed…

"No, I didn't," he answered in the end. Seriously, what was wrong with him, why wasn't he running? Sure, this white caped ghost made no move to hurt him, but that was only a matter of time, wasn't it? As soon as he couldn't entertain the spirit anymore, he would be…

"So you can see only me?" The ghost bounced, yes, actually bounced closer to Shinichi with a happy little grin on his face. He only got a shy nod as an answer, but it seemed to be more than enough for him, as he started laughing. "This is the first time that something like this ever happened to me!" And as he danced around him, he reminded Shinichi of a child who just got his birthday present. His shoulders tensed every time the ghost came a bit too close, but he wasn't afraid anymore. "Hey, hey, what's your name?" The spirit bounced again, this time right in front of him. He was close, but Shinichi still couldn't see his eyes, just the smile on his face.

"Shinichi." he found himself saying quietly. The ghost still could hear him, though, because his smile grew wider, as he exclaimed:

"Nice to meet you, Shinichi!" For a moment he looked down on his hands, then he raised them with a sheepish grin. "I'd shake hands with you, but I can't really do that now."

"It's fine." To be honest, he was glad that he didn't have to shake hands with a ghost. He didn't think his heart could handle it. "And what is your name?"

"Hm?"

"Your name." Shinichi repeated. "I told you mine. It's only fair if you tell me your name too."

"Oh…" The ghost stopped bouncing at that. He looked thoughtful for a while, before he looked at Shinichi. Or at least he assumed that the guy was looking at him. "It's… Kaito. I think." After that he nodded, and repeated: "Yes. It's Kaito."

"You… didn't remember your own name?" Shinichi asked incredulously.

"Well…" The ghost made a weird gesture, as if he tried to scratch his neck but changed his mind before that, so his hand just lingered awkwardly around his shoulders. "It's been a while since I… talked to someone. Since anyone asked my name."

"Oh…" Awkward silence settled between them. Shinichi didn't really know what to say to that. He wasn't really used to consoling anyone, especially not a ghost. Besides, what could a living person say to some spirit? It was already too much, talking to the guy for so long, the next time they might as well have a tea party. Shinichi just snorted at that. Yeah, like that could happen.

"By the way…" The ghost spoke again, stretching out the words. "What are you doing here?" He closed the distance between him and Shinichi again, though this time he was just gliding rather than bouncing.

"I'm just…" His mind was already desperately trying to find an excuse, when his phone rang in his pocket. Who on earth…? "Sorry." He mumbled absentmindedly to the ghost, then looked at the caller ID. Ran. Oh, that girl. Shinichi made a mental note to give her something for saving him from the ghost.

It was nothing special, really. Ran wanted to go to a concert, and since she, for some odd reason, couldn't drag Sonoko along, choose Shinichi. But the ghost didn't need to know that.

"Look, I need to go." he said quickly, and already got ready to leave, but he stopped as he glanced at the ghost. He looked… dejected. Awfully so.

"Oh, I see…" the spirit said with a forced smile. "Well, I know that people don't come here for happy reasons, but if you're ever bored… we could, you know, talk again. Yeah. That'd be good." He raised his hands again, as if to scratch his neck, before he decided against it, and gave a little wave instead. "See you later, Shinichi."

"Y-yeah. See you." he croaked out, then dashed out of the graveyard. _Like I'd ever come back here._


	3. Numb to death

_Yeah, still story still... exists, I guess._

* * *

Apparently Shinichi returned to the old graveyard a lot sooner than he wanted. Not that he ever wanted to go back there.

Someone died from the police – heart attack, found by his wife. Again, Shinichi didn't know him that well, they worked together only once, on a slightly difficult murder case. He was only there to pay respect. Thus he stood at the back, and… as careful as he tried to be, the crowd (because there were an alarming amount of people in there) pushed him to THAT obelisk.

"Please don't let him find me, please don't let him find me, please don't let him…" he chanted to himself under his breath. He didn't know what he expected, but the funeral nearly ended, and no ghost approached him so far. Good. He kept chanting, just in case, but kissed his paranoia goodbye. For a while, that is.

They were lowering the coffin when Shinichi felt a shiver run up his spine, and that strange, warm feeling from the time when the ghost walked through him. His face paled as he turned his head and saw a white hand on his right shoulder. Seconds later the ghost was right next to him. He didn't look at Shinichi, but watched the ceremony with a solemn expression as he asked:

"Did you know him?" His voice lacked the cheerfulness that could be heard last time, instead it was quiet, but tense. His fingertips passed through Shinichi's shoulder, as if he tried to squeeze it.

"Just barely," came the croaked answer. The ghost's hand relaxed a bit, and his face looked calmer too.

"I see. I was worried…" He turned towards him slightly, as if he wanted to look at Shinichi. He couldn't be sure though – he still couldn't see the spirit's eyes, they were hidden behind his hair and under the shadow of his top hat. "It's been only two weeks since the last funeral you went to, it's… too soon. But if you don't know him that much, then it's better, right?"

"Whether I knew him or not, someone still died," he murmured. He glanced at the crying daughter of the man, before he looked back at his unwanted companion. "It doesn't make it less tragic for those who loved him."

"I'm sorry." The ghost bowed his head. "It was insensitive of me. We, ghosts, are… numb to death already, you see." Shinichi couldn't help but snort at that, which earned him a few disapproving looks.

"Yeah, I can imagine. Floating around a cemetery all the time would make me numb to it, I think."

"Aren't you already numb to it, though?" The ghost asked him. For a moment Shinichi saw a searching blue gaze directed at him, before it disappeared again. He couldn't think about it for too long, though, as the question sank in.

"What are you saying?" he hissed. He put some distance between them, taking one step, then another.

"Your eyes…" the spirit started quietly. "They are so cold and sad, as if you've seen too many things you shouldn't have. You're still so young… And still alive…" Shinichi could hear the slightest hints of envy in the ghost's voice, or rather, yearning. As he tried to look at him, he quickly understood why. Beneath the sickly pale colour, his face looked awfully young, like he was around the same age as Shinichi when he died – the guy had his whole life ahead of him when he passed away.

They stood next to each other in silence for a while, watching the funeral. It slowly came to an end, and the crowd around the grave lessened. Shinichi got ready to leave too, but before he could take a step, he felt a hand on his shoulder again – or rather, the shiver that came with the ghost's touch.

"Hey… couldn't you stay here for a bit? To talk?" His voice wasn't anything if not painfully hopeful, and, if his eyes hadn't been hidden still, they would've probably shown the same emotion. Shinichi remembered the last time he saw the ghost, and how dejected he looked when he left – he felt a twinge of guilt as he walked away anyway.

"Sorry, I don't have time for this now."

He wasn't going to have a tea party with a ghost.

* * *

There was something odd about the fact that the ghost named Kaito managed to haunt Shinichi even when he wasn't even near the cemetery. In fact, he wasn't even in Tokyo anymore. He was staying in an old mansion in Nowheresville instead, because for some reason, even after experiencing countless murders in isolated old houses, somewhere in his mind he still thought that visiting strangers was a good idea. Apparently his name was enough as a reason for random people to invite him everywhere to sniff around.

This was the case with a certain Kisaragi Haruko as well, who currently laid right in front of him, while her blood slowly painted the cold tiles under her body a dark and grimy crimson. Her daughter, Mami, still couldn't stop sobbing. Or at least making that irking, high pitched sound that sounded like sobbing according to her. She was obviously faking it, Shinichi thought to himself – thus she became one of the suspects. Then again, everyone in the house was a suspect.

So, disregarding who looked suspicious and who didn't – since looks hardly mattered in here -, he knelt down next to the late Kisaragi-san and examined the body. His mind was on autopilot: signs of struggling, rigor mortis, murder weapon… He didn't even realize it at first.

But then, an awfully familiar voice seemed to reach his ear, like a whisper, as he asked:

"Aren't you already numb to it, though?"

"Numb to death…" Shinichi muttered to himself, earning a few curious glances from the others behind him, but he didn't really pay attention to them. No, because his mind was filled with images now, memories of a certain ghost and his obelisk, and that warm feeling paired with shiver that should be sickening, but…

That was the moment when Shinichi promptly slapped his own cheeks with both hands, while an annoyed growl left his mouth.

"The nerve some ghosts have…" he grumbled, and secretly hoped that the spirit of the late Kisaragi Haruko would bother Kaito a bit.

* * *

"You are pining away, son…" whispered a weak voice. It was almost carried away by the whistling winds of the cemetery. The owner of it, the ghost of an old lady who couldn't remember anything about herself except for the fact that his friends called him "Ami", floated gracefully just a feet above the green mop of grass, and watched another spirit with a sad look on her face.

"Me? Pining away?" The other spirit, the one named Kaito, asked lazily while he was hanging upside down from the top of his obelisk. Or at least, this is how it looked like. In reality, he was floating as well, just a tiny bit above the cold stone.

"And because of a living one, at that…" Ami sighed. "This is not good, son."

"I'm not, though…" he pouted. The lady just sighed again – the boy was the personification of pining away. "It's just that…" He paused, and stood on the top of the obelisk instead, gazing at the moon. The moonlight made him look transparent, his white clothes even more so. He chuckled softly, and turned to the old lady. "He can see me. Only me."

"That's strange… Is there a reason for that? You're not stronger than us, you surely can't be more visible than the others."

"There is." Kaito nodded with an unreadable expression.

"You…" Ami floated closer to the obelisk, and her hands hovered above its surface. "That boy is…?"

"I recognized him right when I saw him."

"Just when you were about to forget him…" Ami sighed, and withdrew her hands. When she looked up, Kaito was gazing at the moon again, like it was an old friend of his. She glanced at where her hands were, the carvings on the marble, once numbers, now odd lines. _An old friend indeed. A very, very old friend._ Ami grimaced as she spoke again. "You should give up, son. He wasn't happy to see you anyway." Harsh words, but true nonetheless. Kaito didn't seem to mind them, though.

"Give up?" he laughed with disbelief. "When I found him? One of them? You know I can't do that!" Ami just shook her head, and decided to float back to her own grave.

"I know."


End file.
